Town Centres Strategic Partnership Programme
The council has endorsed a new partnership
programme for town centres in Waitakere.
What is the Town Centre
Strategic Partnership Programme?
The programme is a public private partnership
between local government, the business community and
the community at large.
The programme is intended to identify and reinforce
the unique identity of a town centre and to promote
that identity as part of its ongoing development.
Business owners and tenants elect to make a
collective contribution to the enhancement and
promotion of their town centre. The concept is
modelled on the way many suburban shopping centres
and malls are managed. The end result is that
stakeholders in a town centre can align themselves
in much the same way as those in shopping centres
and malls.
Basic objectives of the programme are:
- an enhanced physical environment;
- heritage conservation;
- business creation and development; and
- increased employment and local business
investment.
The Waitakere City Council's Town Centre Strategic
Partnership Programme is based on Mainstreet and
Business Improvement District processes recognised
worldwide. Waitakere town centre partnerships will
be called Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).
History of revitalisation processes in town
centres
Mainstreet had its beginnings in the changing social
and economic environment in small town America in
the 50s and 60s. More families had cars, and so
mobility increased. To service these more mobile
shoppers, large format retail such as supermarkets,
cinemas and hardware stores were built out of town
on highways. These structures were serviced by large
car parks, which had a negative impact on the
traditional strip shopping streets in the town
centre. And then of course, shopping malls were
born. Internal-looking shopping malls have a
negative impact on the street environment.
As a result, traditional town centre businesses lost
their customers to these new-format shopping
magnets. They lost vitality, business activity, and
became unsafe. Enter onto the world stage the first
Mainstreet Programmes!
The Business Improvement District programme
originated later as an expansion of the Mainstreet
programme to allow large urban districts in large
cities to access the same results: increased social
capital, rekindled entrepreneurship, downtown
co-operation, and civic involvement.
New processes such as Place Management utilise
concepts similar to the mainstreet programme
structure.
New Zealand picked up these processes in the early
90s, and variations on these programmes have been
established in New Zealand through a direct funding
injection by the local authority, and are then
maintained through targeted rating.
From simple beginnings in small towns across the
country, large cities such as Manukau and Auckland
now run comprehensive council-supported programmes
for their urban and suburban town centres.

Recognised Approach - The Four Point Plan
Waitakere Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
focus on four main areas of activity:
| Organisation |
Getting started, bringing
business and community representatives together to
make things happen; |
|
Design |
Co-ordinating physical improvements
to enhance the image of the town centre and promote
what it has to offer; capitalising on the heritage
significance of the town centre and using it as a
means of establishing an identity; |
|
Business development |
Strengthening existing
business and creating new opportunities for growth;
and |
|
Promotion |
Marketing the town centre through special
events and retail promotions. |

Philosophy
The four point approach succeeds best when combined
with the following eight principles:
|
Comprehensive |
A single project cannot revitalise a
town centre. An ongoing series of initiatives is
needed to build community support and create lasting
progress. |
|
Incremental |
Small projects make a big difference.
They demonstrate that things are happening
in the town centre, and generate skills and
the confidence that complex problems can be
tackled. |
|
Self-Help |
Local leadership can initiate long-term
success by fostering and demonstrating community
involvement and commitment to the revitalization
effort. |
|
Public/private partnership |
Every local town centre
programme needs the support and expertise of both
the public and private sectors. For an effective
partnership, each must recognise the strengths and
weaknesses of the other, and work to build a strong
relationship. |
|
Identifying and capitalising on existing assets
|
Communities should be encouraged to recognise and
make the best use of their unique assets. Local
assets provide the solid foundation for a successful
town centre initiative. |
|
Quality |
From public space, to
shop-front design, to promotional campaigns,
to special events, quality must be the main
goal. |
|
Change |
Changing community attitudes and habits are
essential to bring about a town centre renaissance.
A carefully planned programme will help shift public
perceptions and practices, which will support and
sustain the process. |
|
Action-oriented |
Frequent visible changes in the
look and activities of the town centre will
reinforce the perception of positive change. Small,
but dramatic improvements early in the process will
remind the community that the revitalization effort
is under way. |

Implementation
Waitakere City Council is currently implementing
this new programme in the Henderson,
Te Atatu
Peninsula, Glen Eden and
New Lynn Town Centres.
Other town centres will be brought into the
programme in 2008/2009
Each town centre partnership will
comprise:
- The Waitakere City Council, which provides
resources, and facilitates the process through
community networking and public meetings to
empower town centre stakeholders to enter the
partnership; and
- An incorporated society in each town centre
made up of business and community
representatives. This kind of legal entity
demonstrates a level of commitment from the
stakeholders that makes the implementation of
the programme viable.
The following steps are taken
- Town centre business and property owners
(stakeholders) are introduced the concept.
- The town centre stakeholders:
- form a working/steering group;
- establish an incorporated society with a
model constitution supplied by the Council,
supported by the majority of stakeholders in
their town centre;
- make a formal request to the council to
participate in the programme.
- Once these organisational requirements are
met, the Council provides funding for the
incorporated stakeholder group to write and adopt a
strategic and a business plan.
- Work commences on striking a separate rate that
would fund the ongoing tasks identified in the
business plan by the incorporated stakeholder group.
- Once agreement is reached about the separate
rate (according the processes set out under the
Local Government Act 2002), the Council strikes the
rate for that town centre.
- The town centre is then eligible to utilise and
account for the proceeds of the separate rate
according to their business plan.
- The council retains a financial management role
over the funds and;
- Monitors, reviews and evaluates the programme to
ensure that each Town Centre achieves its goals on
an ongoing basis.
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Steps to becoming a Waitakere BID flow chart
(Size 182K)
Two staff members have responsibility for liaison
with Waitakere town centres. For further information
please contact:
Robin Jenkin-Winter, on 836 8000 x 8400,
robin.jenkinwinter@waitakere.govt.nz
Tracy Tomlinson, on 836 8000 x 8181,
tracy.tomlinson@waitakere.govt.nz

Policy
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Business Improvement Districts Policy (Size
23K)

Constitution
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Model Constitution for Town Centre Strategic Partnership Programmes in Waitakere.
(Size 288K)
The Model Constitution is also available in
Microsoft Word format -
Click here
(Size
173K)

Town Centres News
A one page news sheet for busy business people about Waitakere's main town centres.Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Issue
Four - August 2007 (Size 88K)
Issue Three - June 2007 (Size 63K)
Issue Two
- March 2007 (Size 176K)
Issue One
- February 2007 (Size 486K)
Useful Tips and Information
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
| Title |
Description |
Creating A Healthy Workplace Environment
(Size 79K) |
Work related injury costs
New Zealand. Statistics from ACC reveal that
in the 2005/2006 year there were 39,071 new
work related injury claims to the
Corporation as well as 25,986 ongoing
claims. |
Why Town Centres?
(Size 32K) |
The notes
on a talk by Mike Cullen of Patrick
Partners, Sydney, about the importance of
connections with our fellow man, and how we
are losing those connections in the
placeless global economy of today. |
Merchandising tips to
maximise your turnover
(Size 32K) |
The notes
taken at a recent seminar on visual
merchandising run by Nicole Aston on 14 June
2007. |

Further information
Enquiries to Principal Adviser, Town Centre Liaison,
phone (09) 836 8000 extn 8400 or .

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